There are n't many NFL players who influenced the game like David `` Deacon '' Jones .

Jones , 74 , who died Monday of natural causes his Southern California home , proved himself many times over as arguably the sport 's most fearsome defensive lineman .

He invented his own weapon on the field of battle : the head slap .

He created his own statistic on the NFL record books : the quarterback sack .

`` I developed a term that is used in the game right now called sacking the quarterback , '' Jones is quoted on NFL.com . `` Sacking a quarterback is just like you devastate a city or you cream a multitude of people . I mean it 's just like you put all the offensive players in one bag and I just take a baseball bat and beat on the bag . ''

Clearly , Jones did n't mince words .

Advertising execs on Madison Avenue played on Jones ' tough-guy persona with a series of memorable TV beer commercials for Miller Lite . Dressed in a black leather jacket , Jones marches into a bar and recites a poem about the virtues of the beer , and then warns , `` and if you do n't believe me , I 'm gon na break your nose . ''

The numbers alone tell the tale : The 6-foot-5-inch tall Jones piled up 173 sacks during a 14-year career with the Los Angeles Rams , the San Diego Chargers and the Redskins . That 's second only to Reggie White .

`` Deacon Jones was one of the greatest players in NFL history , '' said Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen . `` Off the field , he was a true giant . His passion and spirit will continue to inspire those who knew him . ''

Sacks were n't even an official NFL statistic until 1982 , long after Jones ' retirement .

Then there was the head slap -- the brain-jarring swipe of a defensive lineman 's hand or arm against the helmet of his opponent .

`` Jones could split helmets with his head slap , and his outside speed rush was devastating , '' wrote Paul Zimmerman , aka Dr. Z , in Sports Illustrated . `` Plus , Jones was relentless ; he never gave up . He collected sacks on his hands and knees . ''

Jones started his NFL career in 1961 with the Rams and spent 11 seasons there . Along with fellow icons Rosey Grier , Lamar Lundy and Merlin Olsen , Jones formed one of the best defensive lines of all time : the Fearsome Four .

As a Ram , Jones perfected the head slap . Jones once said he wished that , after messing with him , opposing players would wake up `` hopefully on Tuesday . ''

You could say it was effective . So effective , the NFL banned it .

`` His eyes were as red as fire , and after he took his stance , he was pawing his leg in the dirt like a bull , '' remembered Rayfield Wright of his first NFL start . Wright , playing with the Dallas Cowboys , was facing Jones in that 1969 game .

`` As an offensive lineman , you 're taught only to hear the quarterback 's voice . Nothing else , '' Wright said in the Sports Illustrated interview . `` I 'm listening in case there 's an audible , and in the pause between ` Huts ! ' I hear a deep , heavy voice say , ` Does yo ' mama know you 're out here ? ' It was Deacon Jones . ''

Rams fans nicknamed him `` Secretary of Defense . '' And in 1999 , Sports Illustrated named him the `` Defensive End of the Century . ''

In 1972 , he was traded to the Chargers , and he finished his career with the Redskins in 1974 .

During his entire time with the NFL , Jones missed just six games .

In later years , Jones worked as a radio host , served as a spokesman for the blood-pressure drug Atacand and started the Deacon Jones Foundation to mentor inner-city high school students .

He also published an autobiography titled -- what else ? -- `` Head Slap . ''

People we lost in 2013 : The lives they lived

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NFL 's Deacon Jones said he invented the `` head slap '' and the term `` sacking the quarterback ''

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Jones was part of the famous Los Angeles Rams ' Fearsome Foursome defensive line

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Nicknamed the `` Secretary of Defense , '' Jones also played for the Redskins and the Chargers

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Jones died of natural causes at his Southern California home